WILLIAMS GIST..: Words of wisdom! Leona Lewis gives Sam Bailey a pep talk as X Factor contestants meet the former finalists

When you’re a novice it’s always reassuring to get advice from those who have already been there.

And the X Factor finalists did just that on Friday when they were introduced to previous runners up, which included Leona Lewis and Olly Murs.
This weekend the X Factor acts will be celebrating a decade of the ITV show on a special anniversary episode and will perform songs by former contestants.

Helpful advice: Sam Bailey has a chat with X Factor winner Leona Lewis

Sam Bailey, 28, enjoyed a chat with Leona Lewis, ahead of this weekend’s live show, where Sam is singing Leona's hit Bleeding Love.

Leona looked stylish for her meeting with Sam, wearing geek-chic glasses, leather leggings, ankle boots and a black-and-white coat.

Leona and Sam talked about the track, with Leona giving Sam advice on how to make the song her own. Tips: Leona told Sam how to make the song her own

Tips: Leona told Sam how to make the song her own

Leona chatted to MailOnline about coaching Sam and explained that the finalist's main challenge is putting her own unique spin on the song.
She said: ‘It was cool. It wasn’t mentoring really, just chatting. She has such a good voice. When I first heard her I thought she should be in the final.
‘Her main worry about the song was making it her own. It’s such a well-known song and she didn’t want to divulge from the melody. But it’s about having a balance – she didn’t want it to sound like karaoke so she needed to put her own spin on it.’

Masterclass: Sam sings at the piano in front of Leona

Leona auditioned for the third series of The X Factor in 2006, singing Over the Rainbow.
Her debut single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", broke a world record after it was downloaded 50,000 times in thirty minutes and went on to become a Christmas number one.
Tamera Foster meanwhile was introduced to Olly Murs, who has sold over 10 million records worldwide and has co-presented The Xtra Factor since competing on the sixth series of the show in 2009.
Nicholas McDonald met Joe McElderry, who has released four top 20 albums, two of them in the top three. He will perform Joe's hit track, The Climb, which he sang on the show's sixth series.

Happy to help: Olly Murs smiles as he meets Tamera Foster

Attentive: Tamera was all eyes and ears as Olly gave her some words of wisdom

And Luke Friend got some advice and a high-five from Shayne Ward, whose first single, That’s My Goal, was the fastest selling single of all time, behind Elton John's Candle in the Wind and Will Young's Evergreen.

Meanwhile, Simon Cowell has confirmed that he will return to The X Factor after signing a new contract with ITV to keep the show going until 2016.

'I will at some point. I still miss that, I mean that show is my baby and that last year we did which was the One Direction year was the most fun I've had - it was fantastic,’ he told Metro.

The mogul admits that the new deal will also afford him the time he needs to make significant changes to the format after viewing figures are understood to have dropped to as few as 3.6 million since his departure in 2010.

‘We've announced a new three-year deal in England,’ he said. 'I've got some ideas of how the show is going to evolve and that's the fun of producing these shows, you can't just make the same show that you did five years ago.'